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The England head coach detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.